Easter and Passover are perfect holidays to feature egg dishes. For Easter we have hard boiled eggs to dye and offer in colorful baskets or to bake in bread and display on the dinner table. For Passover, boiled eggs are featured on the Seder plate and also used to make the fluffiest matzoh balls and other baked treats. In either case, those of us fortunate enough to live in farm country have plenty of access to the freshest eggs. On the North Fork of Long Island you can visit with the farmers who raise their free-range hens and pick up a dozen or two. Some of our favorites are Browder’s Birds, Eight Hands and North Fork Egg Farm.
There are so many deviled egg recipes, but I will share with you a very basic one that you can personalize with any topping such as smoked fish like trout, herring or sturgeon or your seafood of choice like shrimp or crab meat.
A tray of these deviled eggs placed next to a few glasses of North Fork sparkling like the salmon-colored Imperial Topaz $38 from Sparkling Pointe Vineyard will be the centerpiece of your Easter table all on its own. For those of you observing Passover, a great kosher Prosecco, Sciarpa from the Veneto region, will be a welcomed opener for a special evening for under $20.
5 large pickled eggs
1/2 cup light mayonnaise or Mayo with olive oil
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon white-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons minced spring onion
1/4 teaspoon of Sriracha
2 tablespoons of finely minced herbs (milder herbs like parsley, chervil, chives or marjoram as opposed to Rosemary or Sage which will be too strong)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup of Smoked fish of choice or crab meat for garnish
Boiling the eggs:
Place eggs in a medium saucepan; add cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a rolling boil. Remove pan from heat; cover, and let stand 15 minutes. Drain, and run eggs under cold water to cool them. Set aside.
To Pickle:
Add cooked, peeled eggs into a quart size container with 1 part water, 1 part vinegar, 1 part beet juice plus a tablespoon of horseradish, one teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon of sugar. Keep overnight.
Mixing the filling:
Mix together mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, shallot, fresh herbs and Sriracha.
Preparing the eggs:
Peel eggs, and halve lengthwise; remove yolks carefully without breaking the egg whites. Transfer yolks to bowl with mayonnaise mixture, and season with salt and pepper. Mash with a fork until smooth.
Filling the whites:
Spoon or pipe the yolk mixture into the cavity of the egg white.
Adding a topping:
Top with crumbled or sliced smoked fish or crab meat just before serving, or make the night before and keep covered to serve the following day.
